UAE job market to grow in H2

Financial services sector expected to get busy

The UAE job market is poised to pick up in the second half of the year after a relatively stable growth was witnessed in the past months of this year, according to experts in the recruitment industry.

“If things remain equal, there are indeed expectations for a relatively strong job market in the UAE for the rest of the year.Although the signs though are positive, the international instability suggests a conservative optimism,” Konstantina Sakellariou, Partner, Marketing & Operations Director at Stanton Chase told Emirates 24|7.

Experts are clear that even though the market will likely see more positions being filled, employers will definitely weigh their options carefully before increasing their expenditure on human resources.

“We would anticipate that Q4 will see an increase in hiring activity; however, we would expect employers to remain cautious and highly selective in their hiring for the foreseeable future,” said Cliff Single, Commercial Manager at BAC Middle East.

Some experts are quite optimistic about a rebound within certain sectors. “The second half of the year is traditionally stronger for recruitment within financial services. We expect the market to be more buoyant after Eid,” Hasnain Qazi, Middle East Business Manager at Huxley Associates told this website.

According to a recent job index release by Monster.com, the past month has already seen an upward trend.

“The Monster Employment Index Gulf’s positive movement in July reflects further escalation in hiring efforts by regional employers to contrast with the subdued levels of late-spring. The longer-term view continues to confirm strong growth trends for areas like UAE, reflecting robust business confidence,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India/Middle East/South East Asia.

On the other hand, market like Europe and the US are likely to face higher rates of unemployment than previously anticipated.

According to The European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, the unemployment rate among job seekers age 15 to 24 in the 17-nation currency bloc is still over one-in-five, or 20.3 per cent, despite an economic recovery that began in the second quarter of 2009.

“Things world over are not good and we should remember that nobody remains unaffected. Employers locally seem to very cautious, especially after all the bad news about a new recession is doing the rounds,” said a recruitment expert on the condition of anonymity.